


Birthday Breakfast at the Burrow

by cherryblossomwrites



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Harry's Birthday, Nonbinary Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 13:52:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15730725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryblossomwrites/pseuds/cherryblossomwrites
Summary: The Daily Prophet runs an article for The Boy Who Lived's twenty-first birthday. Being nonbinary, this brings up some feelings for Harry.





	Birthday Breakfast at the Burrow

**Author's Note:**

> Being nonbinary myself, I have some feelings about Harry being nonbinary. This is my first attempt at exploring that.

‘Happy birthday, dear,’ Mrs Weasley called to Harry as ze walked into the kitchen for breakfast.

‘Thanks,’ ze said with a small smile.

‘Yea,’ Ron echoed from where he was sitting at the kitchen table with Hermione. ‘Happy Birthday, Harry.’

Hermione leaned across the table as Harry sat down opposite them both, and squeezed zir hand. ‘Happy Birthday.’

Mr Weasley didn’t look up from reading the paper. Harry quickly noticed the Daily Prophet was sending out birthday greetings as well. ‘ _Happy Birthday, Harry Potter,’_ the front page read. ‘ _The Boy Who Lived turns twenty-one.’_

‘Why do they have to keep calling me that?’ Harry said as ze continued to stare at the front page.

Mr Weasley glanced up at Harry, then folded the paper to read the front page himself. ‘Quite right,’ he said. ‘You’re twenty-one. You’re not a boy, you’re a man.’

Mrs Weasley thwapped him lightly with a tea towel. ‘You know full well that Harry’s nonbinary,’ she told him.

‘Oh, yes, of course.’ Mr Weasley returned to the original article he was reading, only glancing up momentarily. ‘Sorry, Harry.’

‘It’s fine,’ Harry said with a slight shake of zir head. Maybe ze shouldn’t be so quick to forgive Mr Weasley, but ze knew that he meant well. He was just slightly distracted – as per usual.

Besides, it wasn’t just the _Boy_ of the phrase that ze hated, Harry thought as ze glanced up at the framed photo on the wall opposite him. Smiling down at them all, Fred had somehow procured a party hat. It was the end of the phrase too. The Boy Who _Lived_. Why did they have to bring so much attention to the fact that had Harry lived, when so many others didn’t? Fred winked down at zir, and Harry refocused zir attention on zir eggs.

There was a loud _crack_ as George apparated into the room. ‘Harry,’ he called, ‘happy birthday, buddy.’ He handed Harry a present before sitting down at the table and dishing himself up a plate.

Harry eyed the small present with nervous trepidation before beginning to open it. Inside was a badge which read ‘ _My pronouns are ze, zir, zirs’_.

‘It loudly corrects anyone who misgenders you,’ George explained through a mouthful of eggs. ‘I know you said you weren’t coming out yet, but I thought I’d get in early.’

Harry stared down at the badge. ‘Thanks, George.’

‘No problem, mate.’ George groaned as he caught sight of the newspaper. ‘Why can’t they go back to calling you the Chosen One?’ he asked.

‘They could also call zir by zir name,’ Ron suggested.

‘Or they could keep me out of the paper altogether,’ Harry said. ‘Why do they even care that it’s my birthday?’

‘Twenty-first birthdays are a big deal,’ Mrs Weasley said as she topped up everyone’s orange juice.

‘Yea,’ Harry agreed, ‘but it’s not front page news.’

‘Or news at all,’ Hermione added.

‘Exactly,’ Harry said. ‘Why can’t they just understand I want to live my life in peace?’

‘Quite right, Harry,’ Mr Weasley said as he closed the paper. ‘Well, I’d better be off.’

‘So had I,’ George said, before shoving a last forkful of food in his mouth. The two of them made their way out of the kitchen, soon disapparating with a slight _crack_.

‘I think I might call in sick,’ Harry announced to the room, ignoring Hermione’s furrowed brows. Ze always got too much attention the day that a news article came out about zir. And ze couldn’t bear the thought of being referred to as _the Boy Who Lived_ over and over again. The familiar feel of dysphoria was already beginning to flare up, a vague itch that reminded zir of Christmas jumpers.

‘That sounds like a good idea,’ Mrs Weasley told zir. ‘You can help me make your birthday cake. I was thinking of icing it in purple, white and green.’

‘The nonbinary flag?’ Harry asked.

Mrs Weasley nodded. ‘Thought it might be nice for something affirming after the nonsense in the paper.’

Harry glared down at the Daily Prophet, discarded on the table. ‘That would be great, yea.’

Slowly, over the course of the day, the itch of dysphoria subsided.


End file.
